FIFA Ranking: Nigeria Now Third In Africa, 32nd In World

Nigeria has been ranked 3rd in Africa and has risen with four places to 32nd in the world, in the latest FIFA Ranking released by the World Football Governing Body on Thursday.

Despite exiting prematurely from the just concluded Africa Cup of Nations, the Super Eagles have commanded an impressive display during the group stages, by collecting all available 9 points and pushed Tunisia before crashing out at the Round of 16.

Among the AFCON winners, Senegal remains the best team, followed by Morocco, Nigeria, Egypt, Tunisia, Cameroon, Algeria, Mali and the Ivory Coast in the same order,  making up the top 10 best teams on the continent.

In the world ranking, Belgium retains the number one spot and is followed by Brazil, France, Argentina, England, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Denmark and Netherlands.

On its website, FIFA said the new ranking method named “SUM” relies on adding/subtracting points won or lost for a game to/from the previous point totals rather than averaging game points over a given time period as in the previous version of the World Ranking.

“The points which are added or subtracted are partially determined by the relative strength of the two opponents, including the logical expectation that teams higher in the ranking should fare better against teams lower in the ranking,” FIFA said.